Who owns the trademark to the name "iPad"? Apple has been fighting in court in China for some time with a company named Proview, who has claimed it owns the iPad trademark. Now that court battle has crossed the Pacific Ocean. Reuters reports that Proview has now filed a lawsuit in California that claims Apple tried to use legal and corporate trickery to secure the iPad trademark.
In December, Proview won a court battle in China over the iPad name with a judge agreeing with the company that it owns the iPad trademark in that country. Proview trademarked the name in 2000 but Apple claimed it bought the rights to the name from Proview in 2009. Proview"s new US lawsuit claims that Apple bought the trademark rights via another company Apple created, IP Application Development.
Proview alledges that Apple would not say why it needed the iPad trademark and added that Apple made decisions "with the intent to defraud and induce the plaintiffs to enter into the agreement". Proview is asking for all iPad sales to be halted in the US. Apple claims that Proview is simply trying not to honor a previously signed agreement.
Meanwhile, the legal battle in China continues between the two companies. A Shanghai court ruled this week that Apple can continue to sell iPads in China, over Proview"s objections. A new court hearing for the Chinese version of this lawsuit is expected to be held next week.